SMRT Area residents being ignored?
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Hey, i stumbled upon this article today morning on the Straits Times forum and can't help but to agree with it. It talks about how SMRT is not doing well in the area of provision of bus services, and also how its fare hikes is not justified. Well, thought i just post it here to get the opinion of the bus community and also maybe some of you can do something about it?
SMRT found lacking when it comes to public bus improvements
THE articles on bus services (ST, Nov 1) reflect the recent improvements made. But it has come to my attention though that the benefits shown do not benefit the entire population.
1. I refer to the article, 'Elderly-friendly buses hit the road'. It must be noted that the buses are operated by SBS Transit, which does not operate services in the Northwest Corridor towns of Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang. These towns are operated by SMRT which has not announced any plans to introduce new buses. In fact, SMRT operates a whole fleet of elderly- and handicapped-unfriendly buses. Some of these are old, like the Nissan buses frequently on Service 975, and others are in very bad condition, like the Scania buses on Service 187. These buses have high steps and are not very environmentally friendly (compare these buses to SBS's 500 new buses). It is sad to see disabled commuters unable to board and the elderly struggling to board. It raises the question: When will SMRT buy new buses to add to the existing fleet? How long will it take for the old buses to be replaced?
2. I now refer to the article, 'Bus routes up 22% from 5 years ago'. Again, it should be noted that the bus routes' increased coverage is due mainly to SBS' good work, not SMRT Buses'. Over the course of the last five years, SMRT has made a few enhancements to some of its services such as the introduction of Service 950 to Johor, extension of service 975 to Bukit Panjang and amendments to Service 985. Conversely, compared to its counterpart, SMRT is not doing enough. SMRT Buses diverts its resources to the Premium and Shuttle bus services but what about the basic services used by the majority? In the last five years, no new services, except the minor enhancements, have been initiated in the Northwest Corridor Towns. The connectivity of these towns to the Eastern region of Singapore is very limited. When given feedback, SMRT tells its commuters to use the trains services. If SBS, which operates trains too, is able to introduce many new bus services, why not SMRT?
Minister Raymond Lim had said that the fare increases are necessary as the bus operators need the income to purchase new buses while introducing new services. This reason is more justified for bus operator SBS. As a daily customer of SMRT, I appeal to SMRT to provide better connectivity, buses and services to its customers just as SBS Transit commendably is doing.
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SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/ST%2BForum.html -
Mmm... I have to strongly agree with this. It seems that after SMRT took over TIBS there has been little or no improvement with the buses but some major improvements with trains.
Who agrees that TIBS would have been better off by it's own?
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Ah, well, blame MBT and his awarding of NEL to SBS(T) in 1999.
Here we go again, same old stuff again.
BTW, I suspect that Haziq guy is a long-lost member of the forum. Anyone can confirm it?
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they introduced new type of buses!
the nissan~!
okay lah, new buses will be coming next yr for smrt. -
When I first saw the CAC Nissans (TIB 1248 D ~ TIB 1256 E), I actually thought SMRT purchased some more new Nissans... and I purposely took one but found out nothing new.Originally posted by Y_Shun:they introduced new type of buses!
the nissan~!
okay lah, new buses will be coming next yr for smrt. -
well, honestly, i don't see how this is related to the NEL handover thing but we are discussing a more current issue. The handover is done for nearly 10 years now. There's no point in brooding over such trivial matters. And we're not trying going into who's who as it's not very nice to do so. i once wrote about a person in the chit chat forum, but decided to delete it as i thought wasn't nice to chat about people. Anyway, I think the the guy really made a good point by highlighting that smrt wasn't making changes. I myself didn't notice until i read it.Originally posted by iveco:Ah, well, blame MBT and his awarding of NEL to SBS(T) in 1999.
Here we go again, same old stuff again.
BTW, I suspect that Haziq guy is a long-lost member of the forum. Anyone can confirm it? 
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Well, the SMRT takeover of Tibs screwed the latter completely. Not many people can deny it.Originally posted by simnatic:well, honestly, i don't see how this is related to the NEL handover thing but we are discussing a more current issue. The handover is done for nearly 10 years now. There's no point in brooding over such trivial matters. And we're not trying going into who's who as it's not very nice to do so. i once wrote about a person in the chit chat forum, but decided to delete it as i thought wasn't nice to chat about people. Anyway, I think the the guy really made a good point by highlighting that smrt wasn't making changes. I myself didn't notice until i read it.
There is still no news about what happened to the 66 buses SMRTB tendered for. At the current rate, I do not expect to see any WAB bendies anytime soon. -
SMRT said they will buy the buses late next year, NOT that the buses will come in next year. so any news got to wait till then. and erm they said the 66 buses will be rigids i think, no WAB bendes so soon. wait till the First few Mercedes benz 0405G retire then can see new WAB bendies at the earliest.Originally posted by iveco:Well, the SMRT takeover of Tibs screwed the latter completely. Not many people can deny it.
There is still no news about what happened to the 66 buses SMRTB tendered for. At the current rate, I do not expect to see any WAB bendies anytime soon.
clarify: the news abt new SMRT buses in this thread: http://buses.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=277600the online zaobao article is taken down already, but if u remember the article mention the SMRT guy say the buses will be [bought next year, but its easy to confuse that the buses are coming in next year. actually they might if the bus is bought early enough in the year for it to roll off the production line faster -
i rmb someone posted that 66 buses coming next year.Originally posted by 201911:SMRT said they will buy the buses late next year, NOT that the buses will come in next year. so any news got to wait till then. and erm they said the 66 buses will be rigids i think, no WAB bendes so soon. wait till the First few Mercedes benz 0405G retire then can see new WAB bendies at the earliest. -
Nissan nt very old la.. MB0405 older rite but they look newer! That is because of the maintenance by SMRT.. All I can say is the people staying in area served by SMRT are unlucky..
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Say what you want but I'm quite used to SMRT Teritory. But got to confess that SBS have OLDER buses than the Nissans, especially the MK-IIIs, which looked newer but are actually older than the UDs. But, one thing is that SMRT could introduce new buses like some of the fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly but cheap Japanese Buses like Mitsubishi or Isuzu. I must confess that Woodlands Transport is more better than SMRT.
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I think when the K230UB was launched, there was a statement over 40% target WAB buses by 2010
At this rate 270 buses would have to be purchased in 1 year for SMRT -
pardon him. he's like thatOriginally posted by simnatic:well, honestly, i don't see how this is related to the NEL handover thing but we are discussing a more current issue. The handover is done for nearly 10 years now. There's no point in brooding over such trivial matters. And we're not trying going into who's who as it's not very nice to do so. i once wrote about a person in the chit chat forum, but decided to delete it as i thought wasn't nice to chat about people. Anyway, I think the the guy really made a good point by highlighting that smrt wasn't making changes. I myself didn't notice until i read it. 
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I feel that having WAB buses on the road will be the way to go in the future. But let me point it out that though WAB buses are more wheelchair friendly, there are very few wheelchair bound people who are boarding the WAB buses. If WAB buses cost more significantly than the normal buses for the company, I will prefer the company to purchase normal buses. It is not feastible to have WAB buses just for the sake of having it.
It is akin to purchase a defebrillator for the company to ensure a constant lifesaver with you.
Imagine if you are wheelchair bound. Touch wood. You will encounter a perilous journey everyday as you will be walking steps or slopes somewhere from your hse to bus stop. You might even have cross a small road before you can reach a bus stop. Will you even bother to take bus from place to place even with assistance? Besides, waiting for the bus can be another terrible thing for the wheelchair bound passengers as they can only board WAB buses. I will take taxi if I really have to go anywhere. If not, I just stay at home. Save $$ also.
The second point about SMRT not introducing more routes to increase coverage, I agree totally with you. As SMRT controls East-West and North-South Line, they can just provide the links from the residential homes to the MRT easily. One, the freq of the feeder services will be well maintained. Two, they can make more $$$ this way. -
to summarise i think these are the changes over the years when SMRT took over :
1) Cosmetic change 2004 ( Remember it because i enlisted into Army) they painted the tibs buses with SMRT logo almost thought its SBS Transit
2) Number changes
( 175 -> 975)
( 341 -> 941)
( 345 -> 945)
(347 -> 947)
3) introduce Svc 965 ( Wdlands to Seng Kang)
Svc 963 ( Wdlands to Harbourfront)
Svc 882 ( Sembawang to Sembawang Road end)
Teacher Estate Bus ( Withdrawn)
Any other significant events?? LOL i can only remember these -
In some countries, WABs had been on the road since 2002. The Transperth Merc O405NHs had been there since Euro II days.Originally posted by tanjun:I feel that having WAB buses on the road will be the way to go in the future. But let me point it out that though WAB buses are more wheelchair friendly, there are very few wheelchair bound people who are boarding the WAB buses. If WAB buses cost more significantly than the normal buses for the company, I will prefer the company to purchase normal buses. It is not feastible to have WAB buses just for the sake of having it.
It is akin to purchase a defebrillator for the company to ensure a constant lifesaver with you.
Imagine if you are wheelchair bound. Touch wood. You will encounter a perilous journey everyday as you will be walking steps or slopes somewhere from your hse to bus stop. You might even have cross a small road before you can reach a bus stop. Will you even bother to take bus from place to place even with assistance? Besides, waiting for the bus can be another terrible thing for the wheelchair bound passengers as they can only board WAB buses. I will take taxi if I really have to go anywhere. If not, I just stay at home. Save $$ also.
The second point about SMRT not introducing more routes to increase coverage, I agree totally with you. As SMRT controls East-West and North-South Line, they can just provide the links from the residential homes to the MRT easily. One, the freq of the feeder services will be well maintained. Two, they can make more $$$ this way. -
963 was merely a cosmetic improvement of the old 521, not a new service.Originally posted by metavolta:to summarise i think these are the changes over the years when SMRT took over :
1) Cosmetic change 2004 ( Remember it because i enlisted into Army) they painted the tibs buses with SMRT logo almost thought its SBS Transit
2) Number changes
( 175 -> 975)
( 341 -> 941)
( 345 -> 945)
(347 -> 947)
3) introduce Svc 965 ( Wdlands to Seng Kang)
Svc 963 ( Wdlands to Harbourfront)
Svc 882 ( Sembawang to Sembawang Road end)
Teacher Estate Bus ( Withdrawn)
Any other significant events?? LOL i can only remember these -
it is not abt how many handicap pple boarding and choosing buses as their mode of transport. Singapore is constantly trying to improve its facility so dat handicapped pple can travel arnd easier. Last time i dun really see any wheelchaired bound pple travelling on MRT but nowadays it is quite common for them to do so? if other facilities are improved for it to be wheelchair friendly, then i dun see why bus companies shld not continue to purchase WAB.Originally posted by tanjun:I feel that having WAB buses on the road will be the way to go in the future. But let me point it out that though WAB buses are more wheelchair friendly, there are very few wheelchair bound people who are boarding the WAB buses. If WAB buses cost more significantly than the normal buses for the company, I will prefer the company to purchase normal buses. It is not feastible to have WAB buses just for the sake of having it.
It is akin to purchase a defebrillator for the company to ensure a constant lifesaver with you.
Imagine if you are wheelchair bound. Touch wood. You will encounter a perilous journey everyday as you will be walking steps or slopes somewhere from your hse to bus stop. You might even have cross a small road before you can reach a bus stop. Will you even bother to take bus from place to place even with assistance? Besides, waiting for the bus can be another terrible thing for the wheelchair bound passengers as they can only board WAB buses. I will take taxi if I really have to go anywhere. If not, I just stay at home. Save $$ also.
The second point about SMRT not introducing more routes to increase coverage, I agree totally with you. As SMRT controls East-West and North-South Line, they can just provide the links from the residential homes to the MRT easily. One, the freq of the feeder services will be well maintained. Two, they can make more $$$ this way.
i agree, SMRT has not hear the cries of the residents in the area. despite letters going to ST forum to ask for improvement, SMRT till now has not made any moves in response and has only replied dat they will keep improving their standard of services despite by the fact dat we commuters can see dat very little is being done!
SMRT runs the MRT system, probably it is the case of them seeling v little incentives of providing more bus services when they think that MRT "really goes every part of Singapore -_-" -
actually it's a misconception that the UD is the oldest bus running on the roads cause of the body works.
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WRONG.Originally posted by chickenlittle2:Nissan nt very old la.. MB0405 older rite but they look newer! That is because of the maintenance by SMRT.. All I can say is the people staying in area served by SMRT are unlucky..
all out wrong.
Nissans are 1-2 years older.
The first bulk of merc entered a year later...
from there, they bought more.
and, BB is still doin fine, thanks to its size and the availability of SBST -
I think he meant the SBST O.405s.Originally posted by muziq bus:WRONG.
all out wrong.
Nissans are 1-2 years older.
The first bulk of merc entered a year later...
from there, they bought more.
and, BB is still doin fine, thanks to its size and the availability of SBST -
chey...so misleadin'Originally posted by Scania:I think he meant the SBST O.405s. -
Feedback by bus fan obviously and i knew who
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MK3 came almost the same time as the UDsOriginally posted by tintinspartan:Say what you want but I'm quite used to SMRT Teritory. But got to confess that SBS have OLDER buses than the Nissans, especially the MK-IIIs, which looked newer but are actually older than the UDs. But, one thing is that SMRT could introduce new buses like some of the fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly but cheap Japanese Buses like Mitsubishi or Isuzu. I must confess that Woodlands Transport is more better than SMRT.
It's the MK2, CRB and O405 that are like 3 - 5 years older -
I have to agree with you on that, SMRT is all talk and no action. Let's just hope that the upcoming LTA Review Results release in December will make radical changes to the structure of Public Transportation in Singapore.Originally posted by hiphop2009:it is not abt how many handicap pple boarding and choosing buses as their mode of transport. Singapore is constantly trying to improve its facility so dat handicapped pple can travel arnd easier. Last time i dun really see any wheelchaired bound pple travelling on MRT but nowadays it is quite common for them to do so? if other facilities are improved for it to be wheelchair friendly, then i dun see why bus companies shld not continue to purchase WAB.
i agree, SMRT has not hear the cries of the residents in the area. despite letters going to ST forum to ask for improvement, SMRT till now has not made any moves in response and has only replied dat they will keep improving their standard of services despite by the fact dat we commuters can see dat very little is being done!
SMRT runs the MRT system, probably it is the case of them seeling v little incentives of providing more bus services when they think that MRT "really goes every part of Singapore -_-"